Rita Leintz

Rita Leintz, 51, of Sinai, South Dakota passed away on Saturday, June 20, 2020, at her home surrounded by her family following a courageous battle with cancer. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2020, at 10:00 A.M. at Eidsness Funeral Chapel in Volga, South Dakota. A time of visitation will precede the service, beginning at 9:00 A.M. A private family burial will take place on Sunday, June 28, 2020, at the St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Dickinson, North Dakota.  All information, including time of burial can be found at www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com. Eidsness Funeral Home is assisting Rita’s family with arrangements.

Rita Mae Lampl was born on January 12, 1969, to John and Venita Lampl in Dickinson, North Dakota. Rita attended Dickinson Public Schools until 1985, when she moved to Fargo, North Dakota, graduating from high school in 1986.

In 1995 Rita graduated from UND-Lake Region in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, with a major in Law Enforcement and a minor as a Paralegal.

On February 2, 2002, (02-02-02 at 2:02 p.m.) Rita married her soul mate, Leroy Leintz in Huron, South Dakota. Rita worked for 5 1/2 years as a corrections officer at the Beadle County Regional Correctional Center in Huron. After Leroy passed away on May 10, 2008, Rita kept herself busy working at various jobs in South Dakota to support her two youngest children that were still living at home. On July 4, 2013, Rita married Patric Honer in Arlington, South Dakota. This marriage later ended, as friends as well as fellow volunteer EMT’s for the Sinai Fire and Rescue. Rita was also a sucker for animals. She adopted and rescued many over the years. She felt that she needed them as much as they needed her.

On February 2, 2015, Rita opened her own business My Crafty Mind, which she still owned and operated until her passing. Through this business, Rita met some very amazing people, who became her extended family. In June 2016, Rita got her CDL and drove for Honer Trucking LLC out of Sinai, SD. Through trucking, Rita was able to see many states and beautiful sights. Walking in the ocean was the only thing on her bucket list. On February 3, 2016, what would have been Leroy’s 14 year wedding anniversary, Rita made her life long dream come true by walking in the chilly water of the Pacific Ocean at Port Hueneme, California. Rita stopped truck driving in October 2016, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After a year of treatments, it was thought that she had won the battle, but unfortunately the cancer came back in 2019.

Rita loved her children to the moon and beyond. In 2015, her daughter Amanda blessed Rita with the title of Grandma. Rita loved being creative, making people laugh, and treated everybody like they were somebody. She would drop everything if she was needed. She never let the harsh side of the world change her soft heart, even if it hurt.

Rita did everything she could to prepare her children for life without her. It wasn’t an easy journey for any that loved her. On June 20, 2020, Rita passed away surrounded by more love than she could every imagine. She will never be forgotten.

Rita is survived by her two sons, Nathan (Amy) Lampl and Christopher Steckler (special friend Jamie, and her daughter Hannah); two daughters, Amanda (Jordan) Pierce and LaShia (Drake) Piper; twin grandsons, Raiden and Roanin; her parents, John and Venita Lampl; two sisters, Tina (Donald) Plew, and Kim Kay McCarty; three brothers, John (SinhNhat) Lampl, Jacob Lampl, and Karl Lampl; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins; and many very special friends including Patric Honer.

Rita was preceded in death by her late husband, Leroy Leintz; grandparents, John and Theresia Lampl, Lena Keller, and Paul Pfaff; two nephews, “Little John” McCarty, and James Lampl; two uncles Henry Pfaff and Emmanuel Lampl; an aunt Norma Lampl; and three cousins, Pam, Sharon, and Sue.